Teaching your baby Auslan signs: a beginner’s guide for parents

Why babies can sign before they can talk

Speech needs fine control over the tongue, lips and breath, skills that take time to develop. Hand control usually comes first. That gap is why a baby who is months away from saying “milk” clearly can often sign it. Baby signing doesn’t teach babies something unnatural; it gives them an earlier outlet for communication they’re already reaching for with gestures like pointing and waving.

Why use Auslan rather than a baby-signing system

A lot of baby-signing material online uses a simplified, invented set of gestures, or borrows from American Sign Language. In Australia, teaching your baby real Auslan signs instead means the vocabulary they’re learning doesn’t get thrown away once they start talking. It carries over into a real language they can keep building on, and it means you’re learning signs that will actually be understood by Deaf family members, friends, or the wider Deaf community, rather than a system nobody outside your household recognises.

Signs to start with

Start small and pick signs that solve real, daily frustrations rather than trying to cover everything at once:

• Milk, eat, drink — feeding comes up constantly, so these tend to be the fastest signs babies pick up.
• More, all done / finished — useful at meals, play and pretty much everywhere else.
• Sleep, hurt — lets your baby flag two of the most common sources of fussing.
• Please, thank you — early manners that double as easy wins for parents to reinforce.
• Mum, dad — often among the first signs a baby produces, alongside the first spoken words.

For the sign itself, video matters far more than a written description or a static picture, since handshape and movement are both part of getting a sign right. Auslearn’s video lessons from native signers are a reliable way to learn each sign correctly before you start modelling it for your baby.

Tips for getting started

1. Always say the word as you sign it. The sign is meant to accompany speech, not replace it.
2. Repeat signs at the moments they matter. Sign “milk” right before feeding, “all done” at the end of a meal, and so on, so your baby links the sign to the moment.
3. Model, don’t drill. Show the sign naturally rather than physically moving your baby’s hands or expecting them to copy on command.
4. Expect understanding before production. Your baby will likely respond to signs before they can make them back. That’s progress, even if it doesn’t look like it yet.
5. Be patient and consistent. A handful of signs used every day beats a long list used occasionally.

A head start, not just a phase

Once your baby is talking, baby signing has usually done its job and naturally fades out. But because you’ve been using real Auslan rather than an invented system, nothing you’ve learned together goes to waste. If signing sparks an interest in the whole family, our guide to learning Auslan as a family and our first signs guide are natural next steps.

Frequently asked questions

What age can babies start learning signs?

Many parents start modelling signs from around 6 months, with babies often signing back somewhere between 8 and 12 months. Research following babies from 8 months has found they build up a working set of signs gradually over the following year, so there's a wide range of normal here: some babies sign earlier, some later, and starting sooner doesn't guarantee an earlier result. Modelling a sign consistently is more useful than starting on a particular date.

Is baby sign language the same as Auslan?

Not always. Some baby-signing programs use their own simplified or invented gestures. In Australia, the popular alternative is Key Word Sign (formerly known as Makaton here), which does draw its signs from Auslan but uses them in English word order rather than full Auslan grammar. Using actual Auslan signs and grammar instead gives your baby vocabulary in a complete language, one that stays useful well beyond infancy and connects with Deaf family members or the wider Deaf community if that's relevant to you.

Does baby signing delay speech development?

No credible research has found that signing alongside speech delays a child's spoken language. Because the sign is always meant to accompany the word rather than replace it, babies keep hearing spoken language just as much as they otherwise would. What's less settled is whether signing meaningfully speeds up vocabulary growth: controlled studies on that stronger claim have produced mixed results, so it's best to treat baby signing as an early communication bridge rather than a guaranteed language boost.

What signs should I teach my baby first?

Start with signs tied to your baby's daily frustrations and needs: milk, more, all done or finished, eat, sleep, and hurt cover a lot of ground early on. Adding please, thank you, mum and dad rounds out a useful starter set. Our first signs guide has more everyday vocabulary to draw from as your baby is ready for it.

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